After Troubled Early Years, This Whiteboy Is Growing Up

0

The Whiteboys are coming or so Joe Shortal hopes.


The chief executive and chairman of Sub-Urban Brands Inc. recently took his company public in a reverse merger to bolster the L.A.-based apparel company as it descends upon stores with the latest Whiteboy-branded gear.


As Shortal sees it, well-heeled suburban Caucasians who shy away from the urban labels FUBU and Sean John crave a brand that’s targeted to them. And now those 15- to 24-year-old males will soon be able to buy Whiteboy products, which go for $30 to $150, locally at Fred Segal.


“We thought there was a void between board wear and streetwear,” said Shortal. “We set out to make a streetwear line for the merging market of skate meets urban.”


Initially, though, the brand was beset with problems when it launched three years ago. Its provocative name didn’t sit well with retail buyers and took customers off-guard. So Shortal pulled the clothes from stores to retool the company and the brand’s image.


Shortal kept the name, cut an expletive that commonly accompanied it and searched for new management and designers. “It took nearly a year to reposition the brand,” he said. Meanwhile, the company racked up losses: $2.7 million for 2005 and $1.7 million for 2004.


The company has now come back with a new designer (Brad Riedell, who formerly worked at Zoo York LLC) and a strategy to roll out various brands. A Whiteboy women’s line and a high-end urban specialty line called Black Jesus will be in stores later this summer. The company is also moving ahead with a line dubbed PYT aimed at ‘tween and teenage girls and is looking to acquire a premium denim brand.


“It is really trying to place product in different market segments so the brands don’t compete against each other, but we create multiple revenue streams,” said Shortal, who is projecting $3.5 million in revenues over the next 12 months.


Sub-Urban is being traded on the OTC Bulletin Board, where its shares closed at 44 cents last Thursday.



The Blues


Universal Blue may be coming out of its blue period.


The denim company, with offices in Vernon, has been a bit frayed of late: one of its founders was out of the picture for a brief stint and sales of its premium Blue Cult jeans tailed off as retailers were flooded with premium products.


But company officials have just announced a deal with nZania LLC, an Irvine-based holder of various licenses, that should help. Under the agreement that starts next month, nZania will hold the license for junior brand Blue 2 and handle sales and distribution of the brands Blue Cult and Sacred Blue.


“We are actually really excited about getting together with Blue Cult,” said Greg Garrett, a vice president at nZania, which has licenses for B.B. Dakota and Levi’s Andy Warhol line. “We are going to maintain the integrity of what they have created.”


Before the deal, Caroline Athias, who started Blue Cult in 1999 with husband David Mechaly, returned to the company to give it design direction after a hiatus. Since then, the company has been paring down the number of styles to concentrate on improving the remaining ones with better fabrics, among other adjustments.


Athias believes the agreement with nZania will further help her company focus on its strengths by delegating to a partner tasks it is weak on, such as shipping. “It is true that we were not shipping on time. We have been affected by this, that is the reason why we needed to strategize,” she said.


So far, Athias said she’s been receiving positive feedback about the changes, but retailers still need to be convinced that the company is turning around: “They are saying, ‘Are you for real?'”


Universal Blue will be launching an array of products knits and wovens could hit the stores as early as spring of next year intended to capture more money from customers already swooping up its pricey jeans, which run as much as $225.



Minding Mirabelle


Even in a city of reinvention, the Sunset Strip stands out. But one restaurant on the Strip, Mirabelle, has stuck around by clinging to a tested formula for 30-plus years: classic food in an intimate setting.


Still, old favorites aren’t beyond a touch up every now and then. And Mirabelle recently concluded several rounds of renovations, costing the family-owned operation a shade under $1.2 million.


“Although this is not the flavor of the month, we are always improving,” said Damon Germanides, a principal at Mirabelle. “Our goal is always to keep it fresh and new so the clientele get to enjoy small nuances in the feel of the restaurant.”


The remodels have helped Mirabelle outlast most of its neighbors. This year, Germanides said dining in West Hollywood has been hit hard by Hollywood, which has seen a bevy of new hot spots open. Despite the competition, Germanides said business is up of late, partly due to the restaurant attracting employees at local companies and tourists.


For example, during one of the rounds of renovations, Mirabelle overhauled its private dining. The restaurant now has a private upstairs room that fits 35 people and has a bar and a balcony. With those facilities, Germanides said he’s been able to host 15 events this month alone ranging from corporate gatherings to graduation parties.


He also put together a lunch menu with 10 items for $10 that’s been a draw for the local crowd, which has become more price sensitive as gas costs have risen.


Mirabelle was opened by Germanides’ father, George, in 1971 as a hamburger and omelet place. Three years later, he converted it to the bistro and bar style venue it remains. “It has always looked kind of similar. “You wouldn’t be able to build something like this today,” he said.



Staff reporter Rachel Brown can be reached at

[email protected]

or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 224.

No posts to display